Posts tagged NBA Finals MVP

Dirk Nowitzki has finally reached the pinnacle of his career and carried his team to an NBA championship. Since losing to the Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals the Dallas Mavericks have developed a reputation of being “one and done”. At the beginning of the playoffs many analysts and NBA experts picked the Mavericks to be knocked out of the first round by the Portland Trailblazers. They made quick work of the Blazers and finished them in 6 games at Portland. After round one Dallas faced the two time defending Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. I expected Kobe and company to send the Mavericks packing. But, to the surprise of virtually everyone, the Lakers were swept in four straight games. After keeping the Lakers from a 3-peat is when people started to take the Mavericks seriously. Dirk Nowitzki and friends breezed through Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder and had their eyes on taking the NBA Finals trophy to Dallas. The 2011 NBA finals was a series to remember, games 2, 3, and 4 were very close and could have gone either way. The difference in these games was Drik’s ability to stay clutch during the 4th quarter. There is a stat that summarizes this perfectly and shows why the Mavericks are the 2011 NBA champions.

Wade and LeBron scored 62 points combined in the 4th quarter of games 1-6 on 23-50 shooting. While Dirk alone also scored 62 points on 18-35 shooting. To me this statistic is HUGE, Wade and LeBron are two of the top five players in the NBA and Dirk did better than the two of them combined! In addition, Wade and LeBron went 11-14 from the free throw line while Dirk was a perfect 24-24. This is why Dirk was the NBA Finals MVP. I am already sick of hearing about what this means for LeBron’s legacy rather than focusing on the accomplishments of the Dallas Mavericks organization. The reason they were able to beat a team with three all-stars was because of their teamwork and poise, neither of witch were present with LeBron and Wade’s Heat. Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, and JJ Barea played their roles perfectly. This was a team effort and was one of the most entertaining NBA Finals that I can Remember